Bay League Notebook: High Hopes

Dennis Gonsalves has been Peninsula High’s baseball coach for seven years, so he has a little perspective on how tough the Bay League is.

It means something when he says this could be the year he and Peninsula win their first Bay League title together.

“This year, this team is a special group of kids,” Gonsalves said Wednesday before practice. “They are all motivated to work hard academically, work hard on the baseball field and what I’m most proud of, they are all friends.”

The Panthers’ 17-man roster includes 13 seniors, one junior, two sophomores and one freshman. Blessed with two outstanding starting pitchers in college-bound Sammy Moore and Cristian Torres, they are 5-1 and have already won the Blue Division of the prestigious El Segundo Tournament.

“It’s a mature group,” Gonsalves said. “Seven or eight of them have been playing varsity since their sophomore year and contributing that entire time.”

The 6-foot, 180-pound Moore is a right-handed pitcher and left-handed hitter bound for UC Irvine. He’s pitched two complete games without giving up an earned run while striking out 15 and not walking a batter.

The 6-6, 200-pound Torres has given up just two runs and four hits in 10 innings. He’s been a little wild, walking seven batters in his two games, but his stuff is undeniable.

“They certainly give us a great nucleus, that’s for sure,” Gonsalves said. “We can expect two good outings from them most weeks.”

But wait. There’s much more.

“We actually have three No. 1s in Moore, Torres and Dillon Rozas,” Gonsalves says.

He said the 6-foot, 160 Rozas would be a No. 1 or 2 starter in most teams. He’s struck out nine in 13 solid innings while giving up four earned runs in 13 innings.

And the bullpen is about as deep as it comes. Senior David Luna, Gabe Linsky, Mark Okuma, Teddy Dilts and Michael Mulligan are all capable pitchers who play other positions. Freshman Edward Haus is another capable reliever on this pitching-heavy team.

“We have several excellent high school starters and our bullpen is rock-solid,” Gonsalves says. “It’s a very deep and talented group.”

But this is not a team that expects to win simply by backing up their pitchers with a few runs earned through playing “little ball.” The Panthers can swing the bats and expect to score plenty of runs this season.

“We’re blessed to have some really super hitters,” Gonsalves said.

Outfielder Luke Streeter is a two-time all-league selection who leads off. Second baseman Mark Okuma, hitting .435 in the early going, is another returning all-league player. Shortstop Tony Poncia is off to a great start, earning all-tournament honors and hitting .500.

Catcher Justin Hertzmann supplies steady defense and power in the cleanup spot. Dilts, a first baseman, hitting .400 with two doubles, supplies power at the No. 5 spot. Haus, a freshman who is expected to have a stellar baseball career at Peninsula, bats No. 6. He’s hitting .409 early in his high school career. Outfielder Kyla Aube often bats No. 7 and is hitting .353. Mulligan, coming back from an early injury, and junior Benjamin Laetsch share the No. 8 spot. Utility player Derek Chance, speedy infielder Chase Nakano and junior catcher Michael Green add depth to a talented lineup.

“I’m very happy with how this team has come together,” Gonsalves said. “Potentially, this could be a very special season.”

The Panthers made the CIF playoffs the last two years. That alone won’t be enough to satisfy the Panthers this season.

ALWAYS SOLID—Palos Verdes has developed a strong reputation for playing good baseball under Coach Evan Fujinaga, so it was no surprise he was a little irritated after an early-season loss to San Pedro in the El Segundo Tournament.

The Sea Kings made some mistakes in the field and blew a three-run lead in the bottom of the seventh before losing in extra innings. That didn’t sit well with Fujinaga.

“We’ve developed a reputation for playing good baseball,” he said at the time. “It’s up to these young men if they want to live up to that. We’ve made some mistakes these past two games I’d like to see us stop doing.”

Perhaps the Sea Kings heard their coach’s wakeup call. They’ve gone 3-0 since that 0-2 start, including shutout wins over Cathedral and South Torrance the past two games. MacKenzie Menthen pitched a three-hit shutout against South after Matt Smith pitched a two-hit shutout against Cathedral. Both young men have good size.

If they’ve started to find their groove, the Sea Kings will be a strong contender, as usual, in the Bay League. More on PV’s development next week.

FRESH START—After a rare period of turmoil for Redondo’s traditionally strong baseball program, the school hired former Long Beach Wilson coach Jeff Baumback during the summer. Baumback is Redondo’s fourth head coach in four years, but he said when hired during the summer that that trend is over.

“I’m here for the long haul,” said Baumback, who was just 30 when hired. “I want to run a program that is an extension of what I learned at Long Beach State (as a player) and Long Beach Wilson (as a coach).

“This is my first go around and it’s a great opportunity. This is a great community. It’s going to be a process. I can’t wait to get started.”

So what has Baumback learned since that introductory press conference?

Early in his first season, he’s optimistic that the talent level is better than it seemed the past two years.

“I’m excited,” Baumback said recently. “I walked in and got handed a team that was 10-15 last year. (But) as we started getting into practice, I saw that there’s a lot more talent than you’d expect on a team that was 10-15.

“That means we have a chance to some good things this season.”

The drawback, Baumback said, is that Redondo’s talented players are not as baseball savvy as programs that have not been through so much turmoil.

“I just don’t think these kids have played a ton of baseball,” he said. “We’re still finding our identity early in the season.”

Therein lies the long-term challenge for Baumback.

“There are not quite as many year-round guys as some schools have that have a strong baseball tradition,” he said. “My challenge is to put in a program that is year-round, put in the structure so these young men can get the baseball experience they need to play this game.”

In the meantime, of course, there is a season to be played. The Sea Hawks were 2-3 going into Thursday’s doubleheader at home against El Segundo.

“I expect us to be a little up and down,” Baumback said. “About 15 games in, that’s right around where we should have enough experience to get better.”

Now, as for that talent—Redondo has the first essential element of a Bay League contender, Baumback said. Right-hander Drew Kozain and Left-hander Grant Wessel give the Sea Hawks a talented pair of starters.

“Those guys have worked hard and have improved a lot. We’re pretty solid at No. 1 and 2,” Baumback said. “I feel confident they’re going to give us a chance to win.”

Pressing for innings, Travis Fischvogt and Nycholas Bongiovanni give the Sea Hawks some good depth on the mound. Baumback said there are several others, including Kevin Hedlund and Dylan Hatch, who could earn innings as the season progresses.

“We have some depth on the mound,” he said. “We’re still searching to see who will be in the bullpen during league.”

The Sea Hawks’ offense is more than capable, Baumback said.

“Hitting-wise, it’s a good lineup,” he said. “I really like our lineup. We’ve got some guys who can drive the ball, hit some doubles.”

Catcher Jake Jimenez and Hatch supply power in the middle of the lineup. Kozain, Matt Esparza and Cameron Bennett add punch and athleticism to the infield.

“One of the critical things for us will be playing solid defense,” Baumback said. “We need to improve the most in defense, but there’s healthy competition for spots on this team. I think that, along with game experience, will help us to get better.”

SENIOR LEADERSHIP—Dick Amberik had retired from the 8-to-5 grind and was 55 years old when he decided to become head coach of the Mira Costa softball team.

Eighteen years later, now 73, he’s still going strong. And so is the Mira Costa softball program.

“It keeps you young. It keeps you moving around,” Amberik said Wednesday. “I can still do a lot of things. This keeps you on your toes. … When you stop, there’s only one way to go.”

Coaching is in Amberik’s blood. One way or another, he’s been a coach for 43 years. And he gives no hint that he’s ready to call it a career. That’s good for Mira Costa, which has a strong softball program and is a Bay League contender year after year, 2011 being no different.

The Mustangs reached the second round of the CIF playoffs last year and are off to a 4-1-1 start this season.

“The competition has been very, very good and we’ve done well,” Amberik said. “Our pitching has been surprisingly good, we have excellent defense and we’ve been getting great timely hitting so far this season.”

So far, junior right-hander Breanna Kelly has been the Mustangs’ leading pitcher. Going into Thursday’s home game against Marymount, Kelly was 3-0 with a .58 ERA. Freshman Shannon Savino is 1-0 with a 4.38 ERA.

“Brianna has been very good and Shannon has stepped in because we need the help,” Amberik said. “We’ve got good hitting, so we just need our pitching to keep us in the game.”

Junior third baseman Stefanni Lajeunesse has already committed to the University of Wisconsin and is off to a great start. She’s hitting .500 with two home runs in only 22 at bats. Junior shortstop Meghan von Behren has committed to Loyola Marymount University and also is off to a strong start. She’s hitting .400 with a home run and six RBIs.

Second baseman Kamyle Glover and first baseman Chloe Krasnoff round out the infield. Krasnoff is hitting .333 with a home, one of five the powerful Mustangs already have hit this season. Center fielder Taylor Glover, only a sophomore, is off to a great start. She leads the team in hitting with a .591 average (13-for-23).

Junior catcher Katie Saunders, a returning All-CIF performer, supplies stability and hitting. She’s hitting .364 with a home run and seven RBIs. Sophomore Nicolette Gialketsis, a catcher, third baseman and outfielder, is hitting .357. She bolsters the Mustangs’ outfield and adds depth everywhere else.

“I’ve got a good bunch of people with experience and the ability to come from behind when we have to,” Amberik said. “It’s a very balanced team this year.

“I’ve had other teams that more individual talent perhaps, but as a collective unit, this could be one of the better teams I’ve had.”

Considering how many good softball players have passed through Mira Costa over the past 18 years, that’s saying a lot.

LOCAL CONNECTION—The baseball teams at El Camino College and Harbor College are playing a three-game series this week.

Fans of Bay League baseball, as well as JC ball, should be enjoying the series that ends Saturday because both rosters are dotted with players from PV, Peninsula, Redondo and Mira Costa.

Harbor’s roster includes outfielder Daniel Marquez (Redondo), hard-hitting Marc Venning (PV), pitcher Sam Andrews (Redondo), infielder Kyle DeMarco (Mira Costa), infielder Kris Cayton (Mira Costa), catcher Jackson Morrow (Mira Costa), outfielder Taylor Johnson (Peninsula), left-handed pitcher Roy Hughes (Peninsula), outfielder Nick Ridio (Redondo), infielder Danny Rojas (Mira Costa), infielder Mark Mainini (Peninsula), pitcher Logan Hooper (Peninsula), right-hander Brent Weber (Mira Costa), and pitcher Austin Chavira (Mira Costa). ECC’s roster includes infielder Atlee Schwab (PV), utility man Cole Trezek (PV), pitcher Dylan Linke (Peninsula), infielder Peter Ives (Redondo), pitcher Michael Heredia (Redondo), pitcher Alex Mistuloff (Redondo), pitcher Alex Pettis (Peninsula), pitcher Drew Freeman (PV) and pitcher Mason Patterson (PV).